I haven't seen many restorations on high quality pipes, and haven't done many myself. I have a fondness for nice Italian pipes, but don't have the budget for the better ones.
Yeah, I know Ascorti pipes are usually not the first choice for these type of pipes, as most seek out Castellos, Caminettos, or Radice pipes. I guess the Ascorti pipes sell for less because they were sold at Tinder Box stores. Who knows, but I like Ascorti pipes and feel they offer the same quality as Caminetto, and Radice pipes, yet at a lower price.
So anyway I found this pipe on ebay and the seller had a few Ascorti pipes for sale, and all had some serious problems with the end of the stem. For some reason this one was priced the cheapest, and had a make an offer option too. So I offered $30 plus shiping and it was accepted. Overall the pipe was in decent shape, but the button on the stem was totally destroyed by the previous owner. I got this because I like a challenge, and even though it took about 7 hours of work for the complete pipe, it came out pretty good, and is almost good as new now.
These pics show the pipe as I got it, except for the fact that I had already started working on it, when I remembered to take some before pics. All I had done at this point was ream out the considerable cake, and lightly sand the funky stuff off the end of the stem.
As you can see, the bowl was pretty good, but the stem button is really sad
Next pics are of the restored pipe. I cleaned the inside and outside and waxed the bowl, and after rebuilding the stem with black super glue, with glue accelerator, I had a LOT of filing and sanding to do. Then some polishing with tripoli, white diamond, and it looks pretty good. I don't think the button is true to original, but I made it the way I wanted it to look and feel in my mouth. My other Ascorti has a thinner button, but I actually like this better.
Yeah, I know Ascorti pipes are usually not the first choice for these type of pipes, as most seek out Castellos, Caminettos, or Radice pipes. I guess the Ascorti pipes sell for less because they were sold at Tinder Box stores. Who knows, but I like Ascorti pipes and feel they offer the same quality as Caminetto, and Radice pipes, yet at a lower price.
So anyway I found this pipe on ebay and the seller had a few Ascorti pipes for sale, and all had some serious problems with the end of the stem. For some reason this one was priced the cheapest, and had a make an offer option too. So I offered $30 plus shiping and it was accepted. Overall the pipe was in decent shape, but the button on the stem was totally destroyed by the previous owner. I got this because I like a challenge, and even though it took about 7 hours of work for the complete pipe, it came out pretty good, and is almost good as new now.
These pics show the pipe as I got it, except for the fact that I had already started working on it, when I remembered to take some before pics. All I had done at this point was ream out the considerable cake, and lightly sand the funky stuff off the end of the stem.
As you can see, the bowl was pretty good, but the stem button is really sad
Next pics are of the restored pipe. I cleaned the inside and outside and waxed the bowl, and after rebuilding the stem with black super glue, with glue accelerator, I had a LOT of filing and sanding to do. Then some polishing with tripoli, white diamond, and it looks pretty good. I don't think the button is true to original, but I made it the way I wanted it to look and feel in my mouth. My other Ascorti has a thinner button, but I actually like this better.
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